Everything Will Be Okay | In Every Season, Seek the Lord | Pastor Marty Ocaya

[Music] hello hello elevate welcome to our online youth service i'm glad that you can join us today and i just want to give a shout out i heard earlier that there are people joining us from italy hello and i think for some people there some are from they're from they're in singapore right now and they're also joining us can you just chat there who are you guys joining us hello hello new bahamas who are those people joining us online internet wait long way check online and if you want to be uh mentioned here in my chatland hopefully i can find it but anyway anyway hi to all of you guys we are in this actually this is a serious break topic not in for today our topic is everything will be okay i know last week we ended our series on i'm not okay and we decide that before we go to a new series next week we're gonna have a new series we've decided let's somehow i'm not okay but but we're gonna end it in a positive note that yes everything will be okay now i mentioned that next week we're gonna start a new series let me show that to you guys because next week very important though you don't want to miss it i want you as early as now think about those people that you're going to invite because we're going to have motivate influence for lasting impact it's a series about family and it's a very very important series for a lot of people they know family is important but their families are struggling and for some of you you're struggling in your relationship with your family maybe especially naon in this pandemic in this crisis that you're always at home you're experiencing a lot of conflicts at home this series is for you actually it's for all of us so we can improve in loving one another we can know how to relate better to our family members and hopefully even extended family not then we can make an impact a lasting impact for the to them so that's why don't miss that out it's going to start next week exciting talk maraming topics maraming lessons and we're going to learn all together as we enjoy this series okay so let's look at our topic for today everything will be okay and i mentioned earlier in the hosts that we're going to talk about prayer so you might be thinking how can everything be okay during the season because the season is quite tough in fact that's my question when i was preparing for this how can everything be okay in a season where everything's not okay i mean how do you experience being okay okay a lot of people are dying a lot of people are getting sick a lot of people have lost their jobs a lot of people their internet connection is a problem okay a lot of people the online classes i i feel you students okay i feel you i've heard so many people complain i've heard so many students they're just having a hard time studying and there's this term right now asynchronous right that basically you're gonna do your own study time there are some requirements that you're gonna do so aside from the zoom online class you have your own things that you're gonna do at your own time but still it's hard right and you're not alone in this okay i have three kids two of them are already studying one is in grade one the other is in nursery and actually they're in online class after a few hours actually one hour those off they couldn't understand anymore what the teacher is saying so it's just too difficult and it's hard to adjust and you're not the only one adjusting not just the parents even the teachers teachers i know we have teachers who are joining us in our online youth service hi to all the teachers there we feel you okay we understand that it's also hard i can see them they're always smiling they're always positive in what's happening but pagatapos i really believe they're also frustrated they're also tired and maybe their question is will everything be okay in a season right now what we are experiencing in a season where everything's not okay so how can everything be okay i'm not talking about positivism here okay i'm not talking about being positive okay i'm going to think positive thoughts everything is going to be okay everything will work out well magazine vaccine i mean those things are good but i'm not focusing on positivism just think positive thoughts no because when you think positive thoughts usually into something or someone if that thing or some or so if that person or thing that you're anchoring on is not secure then you begin positive it's still not secure you will still not feel okay there is still some emptiness in your heart there's still some questions unanswered and you still feel down so that's why what i want to focus is this look at this statement when the presence of god is actively present in your life everything will be okay when the presence of god is actively present when i say actively present he is involved when i say actively present he is in control and when i say actively present you long for him he is involved he is in control and you yourself ask me i long for the lord when he is actively present in our life then everything will be okay can you chat there tag my classmates mo and young friends mo can you ask them are you okay right i know last week union topic nothing nothing i'm not okay but keep asking them that question because a lot of people they just need someone to listen to hear them out to pour out their concerns because it's just heavy for them but again when the presence of god is actively present in your life i promise you everything will be okay you might be thinking i've heard that many times now yeah i need the presence of god but still how come i don't feel that it's okay that's why i want you to listen to this message because our message today in this series break that is connected to our last week series is this let's read this together in every season seek the lord okay in every season seek the lord can you chat that on the screen on that chat box say that you're a chat that dear friends in every season seek the lord whether it's a positive season a negative season dark season a beautiful season covet 19 season crisis or no crisis at all in every season seek the lord because when the presence of god is actively present in your life everything will be okay so where can we find this how can how can seeking the lord make things okay even if it's not okay don't get me wrong i'm not saying that when you seek the lord all the problems in the world will be solved i'm not saying that what i'm saying is in your heart of hearts you personally you're gonna experience the peace you're gonna experience the joy you're gonna experience the embrace of god and you will be able to say with all of your heart everything is okay everything will be okay there's that hope there's that assurance there's that strength that you didn't have before all because you were seeking the lord and we can learn this from a group of people that god spoke to them and this is quite familiar to you guys he spoke to these people because he wanted these people to realize to realize that when they seek him everything will be okay but before that let's look at what paul wrote first in first thessalonians 5 16-18 let's read what he said he said rejoice always whether in good times or in bad times rejoice always pray continually in other translations he said pray without ceasing don't stop praying consistently pray every single day pray if you have when you wake up in the morning before you sleep pray pray consistently give thanks in the heart whether in good times or in bad times in all circumstances for this is god's will for you in christ jesus in other words i can do it because of christ jesus i can do it because jesus christ modeled it he rejoiced he prayed continually he gave thanks in all circumstances that's why when he was here on earth he willingly died for your sins and my sins he sacrificed his life so that we may live and he proved his god because he rose from the dead that's why we can entrust him and that's why we can say that everything will be okay he modeled it let's read it again in every what season seek the lord during this time what are you seeking where are you anchoring your security who are you longing for this season no seriously who are you longing for this island but you get what i'm talking about if your focus on something else other than god if you're seeking something else more than you seeking god then there's a problem then i promise you if you do that things will not be okay but when you actively seek the lord in your life everything will be okay like what i mentioned earlier we can learn this from what god said to this group of people this nation called the israelites when they were in a situation now we can honestly say it's not okay why is it not okay let's read first a very famous passage in jeremiah 29 11 oh i love you for a lot of you guys this is your life burst but let's look at the context of this passage jeremiah 29 11 it says for i know the plans i have for you declares the lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you hope in the future when people use this in the wrong context for example in the vaseline passage sometimes for success plans to prosper it doesn't answer that passage okay and i'm going to explain what this passage means or for example some people you know like i forgot to review for this exam but wait jeremiah 29 11. i know my plans for you so do you get that some people say it in the wrong way that's not the reason for this passage because they know of some people as well who use this passage in the wrong context in fact when you listen to the right context of this passage it's a plan in the lord so israelites why what's the plan of god to the israelites and why is that connected to our message today because a message our message is seeking the lord our message is in difficult times in every season whether good times or bad times we should seek the lord but when we read this passage it seems like yeah difficult time pero everything will be okay because that's good but what is the context of this passage let's look at first jeremiah 29 let's look at verse 4. so this is what the lord almighty the god of israel says as this is the god of israel says to all those i carried into exile from jerusalem to babylon god was saying through prophet jeremiah to those people who are exiled to babylon you get you get the message of the meaning of exiled they were conquered by the babylonian empire and now some of them were taken captive no not the city but canaan country miles away to this babylonian empire and you will be under our empire we have taken control over you it's just like another bigger country bigger than the philippines suddenly conquered our country and sinabi satan sorry you're not gonna live in your condo anymore you're not gonna live in pasig anymore you're not gonna go to ccf anymore go to our country we will fly you there we'll give you a house stay there you will serve us is that a good thing i don't think so for a lot of people actually for majority even me if this happened to me my initial thought is why lord this is like a new normal for them because they're gonna stay in a foreign land they're gonna live a different kind of life not the kind of life that they were used to not the kind of place that they were used going around they will study a culture not their own and talk to people that they don't necessarily like because these people conquer them so imagine what god is saying here i'm talking to you you people who are exiled this is my message to you build houses settle down plant gardens eat what they produce wait a minute lord you mean to say this is my new normal yeah stay there do what they're do do the things that you know what you normally do build houses eat settle down plant gardens buy the things that they produce eat it and not just that mary in other words you can get married there with fellow israelites have sons and daughters find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage so that they too may have sons and daughters in other words don't stop living yes there's a crisis this may be a crisis for you but don't stop living a lot of people right now because of this crisis they stop living they don't want to move they are bombarded with all the lies all the negativity all the uh the hopelessness that they can think of instead of living you see you cannot do anything with what's happening right now you i mean you can do something with your life but to impact the entire world i don't think we can do something right now but we can pray but we can depend on god but we can do something with our life that can make an impact one by one one small act another small act and keep or continue living our life don't allow this crisis to paralyze you a lot of people are paralyzed right now a lot of people are stuck yes israelites don't get stuck they too may have sons and daughters increase in number there do not decrease why they were so sad they were so lonely that they are conquered they don't want to live anymore some of them wanted to die some of them they don't like being captive but god is saying don't give up i know what you're feeling don't give up and look at the next part verse 7 also seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which i have carried you into exile in other words do good there obey the law obey the rules that are in that land make sure that you live a peaceful kind of life don't wage war against them because again practically you're not going to win they're a bigger empire but it's not just about that you are a child of god you're a people of god live that kind of life pleasing to the lord city to which i have carried you into exile pray to the lord for it pray for the city why would i pray for the people that conquered me because if it prospers you too will prosper so in other words you're there you can do something yes with your life you can make an impact by praying you can do something so that you can continue living you may not be able to make an impact globally with what's happening right now but you can make a difference in a small way and in verse 8 yes this is what the lord almighty the god of israel says do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you in other words my manga in there within their midst can you but anyway diviners among you who deceive you do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have because here's the thing let me explain this context uh there were people aside from jeremiah who were telling the people in exile now don't follow the babylonian empire we will not be in exile next week we will go back to our own land we will defeat them we will have our own land don't listen to jeremiah god does not send him this is what god says don't believe those lies don't trust them don't depend on them depend on the lord depend on what i say to you you will be in exile plan for you imagine you're planning to god you will be in exile kasami has a plan under god and then he said they are prophesying lies to you in my name i have not sent them declares the lord and then verse 10. look at verse 10 this is what the lord says when 70 years are completed for babylon i will come to you fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place ilan here captive seventy years what the liars are saying is no one we clanging for you they slang indian tata we're going to go back to our own land and god is saying through prophet jeremiah they are lying that's not true god wants us to stay there imagine sinnabini 70 years but most of the time he doesn't say that for some of you that's what you're asking lord singles two years five years but we don't know okay again i'm not going to say it god doesn't answer that and in this passage i'm so grateful how gracious god is to them god was telling them 70 years long in captivity right it's god's grace that tells them this is not assurance 70 years after 70 years i'm gonna give bring you back to the place this is to fulfill my good promise to you and then to encourage them jeremiah 29 11. for i know that's why we seek the lord that's why god said this passage to them he's saying to the israelites you stay there you keep on living you keep on trusting me you keep on praying to me seeking me because i know the plans i have for you declares the lord what are these plans it's to prosper you not to harm you wait lord meaning to say when we go to babylonian empire we're going to prosper that's the promise of god you mean to say when we're conquered we're not going we're not it's not going to harm us that's the promise of god you mean to say that these things will give us hope in the future that's the promise of god you see our problem is we don't trust the promises of god kait's inability that's the funny thing about us we don't trust the promises of god ki nagas a word right okay god already said in his word this is what i say to you this is my promise promises to you if you obey me i'm gonna bless you if you're gonna keep on seeking me you will find me you will know me he said that already to his in his word but a lot of us still doubt it still don't trust it that's why we need to seek the lord you know why we should seek guidance from the one who knows i know seek guidance from the one who knows it's just like when you're studying and you're having a hard time with your subject i remember before when i was in college i was having a hard time studying accounting okay we have an accounting class i think two accounting classes and it was just so difficult okay i couldn't balance for the account my accountant friends were there i couldn't balance the balance but anyway it is just hard but i have friends who are good in that so what i did i went to them asked for advice and i listened to them why because they know hindi fellow you go to someone who knows and that's why we go to god because we that's why we seek god because we should seek guidance from the one who knows why would you seek guidance from the one who doesn't know that's why god was saying to the israelites i know the plans i have for you and not just that i know the plans i have for you it's his plans he created us he know what's best for what's best for us he created us he has set these plans that are good for us but he's not going to force these plans but he's going to use people to tell us he may not say to you allah for you but he's gonna give some people and his word to remind you and me of what his plans are that's why we should seek direction from the one who has a perfect plan because he has a perfect plan for us so after verse 11 let's look at verse 12. jeremiah 29 verse 12 then while you're there okay god was telling the israelites okay now you're in captivity these are i have plans for you okay don't l keep on living your your life live your life don't give up don't quit live the life that i want you to live and as you live that kind of life then you will call on me because it's going to be hard i'm not saying it's going to be easy when there you're in captivity not every day it's going to be easy when during this crisis there are days that are good but guess what a lot of days it's not good then we will call on him and come and pray to him and he will listen to us that's his promise now when we seek him come to him pray to him he will listen to us he hears us and in verse 13 you will seek me there you go that's our message and find me how will we find him when you seek me with all your heart and that is key when we want everything to be okay if you want everything to be okay we need to seek him because when we seek him with all our hearts then we will find him not everyone who seeks the lord finds the lord when you say seek the lord it's longing for god it's absolutely depending on him that's the word seeking i'm dependent on you lord i'm longing for you i'm desperate for you it's with all your heart some people they seek god not with all their heart they seek the blessing not the one who blesses they seek the answer to their prayers they seek that their emotional feeling will be good sometimes you know nothing when we seek the lord there lord i'm going to seek you out after i seek you meaning to say that go that's not what god is saying here god is saying you will seek me and when you seek me with all your heart you will find me will my emotional feeling be good i don't know sometimes yes but sometimes no what do i mean by that have you ever experienced that you keep on you kept on praying those things will happen but that doesn't mean you stop seeking the lord god is saying keep seeking me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart important with all your heart in when there's something very important in your life and you want to find that okay let's say you lost your cell phone i believe the entire day you're going to find that you're going to look for that or the next day you're going to look for that [Music] whatever it is so that you can find your cell phone or whatever that's very important for you so what more if god is very important to you one more if you really long for god that's why when we seek god with all our hearts we will find him what's our message in every season seek the lord can you again chat that's my friends in every season seek the lord you know i'm glad we are in this serious break and we are talking about prayer because all the more guys during the season we have to pray all the more we need to spend time with god we need to hear his voice we need to seek him his will his guidance because our hearts will deceive us our hearts will tell us i tell you if you allow your emotions to control your life everything will not be okay you're going to give up in fact you're not going to live you're not going to live life you're just going to if god is not the center of your life it's sad to say a lot of people are experiencing that some people are finding purpose maybe in the wrong in other things aside from god temporarily it gives them some hope but i tell you 10 years from now 20 years from now i don't know if that's gonna give you hope in fact it's not gonna give you oh that's why god said i know my plans i have for you plans to prosper you plans to give you hope in the future it's not gonna harm us that's why in every season we seek the lord okay what does it mean when you seek the lord i'm gonna give you four principles to help you seek the lord more i'm gonna give you these four principles and hopefully these four principles will help you during this season now here up here up and i know it's very tough but please guys this season will get longer i don't know when this will end i hope by next year there's going to be a vaccine and a cure and even if there's a vaccine i don't know how long it will take it doesn't mean that i'm saying this to give you a hopeless situation no but what i'm saying is our hope is not in the vaccine our hope is not in the cure our hope is the presence of god in your life and in my life that's why he never sees one seek the lord so what are these four principles to help you as you seek the lord number one seeking the lord involves time time if something important in your life if there's something important in your life you will spend time with that thing if there's a person important in your life a lot of you my important person gives a life neo you will chat regularly with that person right you will spend time you will talk you will zoom in fact if that person is important in your life but anyway let's read this don't expect to grow in the lord if you don't have time for the lord don't expect a lot of you you have a relationship with god you want to grow in the lord cliche a lot of christians would say that i want to grow in the lord i want to grow in the lord how can you grow in the lord if you don't have die if you don't have time for the lord that's the key if you want to grow in your relationship with someone you spend time with that person if you want to have a a a buff body stronger muscles fit body you got to spend time exercising if you want to whatever that is if you want to grow in a certain sport you practice that sport with so much time you want to be a good shooter you shoot many times you want to be a good basketball player want to be a good soccer player whatever that is it involves time anything that is mastered by someone involves a lot of time doing that something anything that is a master of something involves a lot of time doing that something so if we want to grow in the lord really know god really be centered on god's will then i need to have time for the lord that's why i look at what god said to joshua and this this message is not just for joshua but the israelites as well because the israelites know this that if in order for me to seek the lord part of that is spending time with him why joshua 1 7 be strong and very courageous be careful to obey all the law my servant moses gave you do not turn from it to the right or to the left that you may be successful wherever you go obey the law and part of that is this keep this book of the law meaning to say the pentacho the first five books that moses wrote keep this book of the law always on your lips here you go meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it then you will be prosperous and successful that's god's promise if we spend time with this word of course our bible is longer compared to theirs they have the first five books and god was telling joshua spend time in it dwell in it and god is telling us the same thing with his word this is his word to us these stories here the gospel the good news it's here his message to us how can we expect to live a life pleasing to him if we're not spending time seeking him daily by reading his word seeking him involves time it involves praying talking to him it involves reading whatever you spend most of your time on that occupies your mind if you're spending too much on netflix whatever that series is in fact right maybe some of you you're already thinking i know you see this some of you are imagining that because he kept on thinking about those things kept on watching on those things i'm not saying don't watch those things but what i'm saying is spend time reading his word because if your mind is occupied with god's word it's going to protect you from the lies of the enemy but if your mind is not occupied with god's word a lot of people who got deceived by the world is not dependent on god's word or they don't have much time seeking god's word when you seek god's word spend time with him daily it's going to protect you from lies it's going to protect you from the attacks of the evil one it's going to protect you from making wrong decisions especially during this season and it's going to protect you from the attacks of your negative emotions sometimes tightening the attacks our minds are being attacked by what we feel but when we bombard ourselves with god's word then we can say hindi they promise that's why seeking the lord involves time look at what daniel what happened to daniel when daniel learned exile babylonian empire when daniel learned that the decree had been published what's that decree you only pray to the king the image of the king you pray to that thinking that that's god of course daniel doesn't want to do that he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward jerusalem because there's that law there's that guideline from god that you pray towards the temple towards jerusalem and how many times did he communicate with god three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed giving thanks to his god just as he had done before this was a consistent thing for him he kept on spending time with the lord i have never seen a man used by god mightily without that man spending too much time spending time with god quality time i have never seen a man used by god now he didn't spend time with the lord men that are used mightily by god spends time with him daily earnestly seeks him that's why in every season what seek the lord principle number two seeking the lord involves efforts why because there are times hindi mu film and spend time with the lord and there are times i tell you there are times you're going to drag your feet you're gonna drag your hand opening it opening the bible [Music] assignments you have to make an effort look at deuteronomy chapter six again the israelites know about this the reason why i'm saying sharing old testament verses because the these guys they know it it's written in their law before they were exiled to babylon meditate love the lord your god with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength it requires effort energy these commandments that i give you today are to be on your hearts meaning to say the law the word of god will be on your hearts impress them on your children pass them on live out that those laws obey those laws so that these children of yours will follow them as well talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road when you lie down and when you get up tie them a symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads do you see these actions he's saying impress talk when you lie down and when you get up you talk about it you tie them a symbols on your hands and bite them on your foreheads all of these things requires effort and that's why we need to make an effort not just that write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates effort effort then for the israelites to do these things in other words if something is important to us we're going to make effort to make sure that we do those things whatever that is so if seeking the lord the lord is very important to me even if i don't feel it i'm gonna make an effort and i know a lot of you there are times you don't feel like seeking the lord especially the season don't allow the lie of the enemy to prevent you from seeking the lord make an effort look at this statement there will be days that your heart longs for someone or something else other than god i tell you there will be this maybe that day is right now para talaga some of you are experiencing that there will be days like that nevertheless when that happens make an effort to keep seeking the lord that's why effort is required make an effort don't allow the lack of emotion to dictate your action even if i don't feel it god says i spend time then i'm going to spend time a moment don't let that feeling control your your action in fact go against that feeling because you know the truth worshiping god involves spirit and truth sometimes you don't feel the spirit the paran feel but the truth is the same he is god he deserves to be worshiped he deserves to be glorified therefore i'm gonna make an effort to spend time with him and listen to him so what's our message again in every season seek the lord so what are the principles number one it involves time seeking the lord involves time seeking the lord involves effort energy from us seeking the lord involves consistency you know some people would say my effort today so brahman seek no that's not what matters to god for god it's our whole life for god it's my entire being every single day of my life it's not okay lord this day talagang was all for you but next day boss all for myself no consistency is very very important that's why joshua spent time daily twice a day reading god's word in dania three times a day he got down on his knees praying to god because it's important to him the consistency in fact we grow because of the consistency it's not that i grow because today i did so many things better tomorrow i didn't do it i grow because of consistency for those who are in you know jim bufzilla my healing celeb workout you get what i'm talking about you gain muscles and you become stronger because of consistency not because you gave an a 110 effort on on one day let's say that day five hours getting exercise but the rest of the weekend you can exercise voila it's not gonna work it's not gonna happen you're not gonna have a good body or fit body it may have some positive results but it's not gonna be effective what's more effective is every is consistency more days throughout the week lesser time every day and that's what god wants for us he wants us now okay this day i'm going to spend time with the lord next day i'm going to spend time with the lord the the next next day i'm going to spend the time lord every day kayanga sabio aninet requires effort why imagine consistent in doing these things it's not easy we need effort but if we want everything to be okay in our hearts in the way we think in how we respond in our focus on the lord then i need to be to seek the lord it involves time it involves effort it involves consistency something or someone important will be part of our daily schedule now let me ask you is god part of your daily schedule or hindi then i don't know if you're gonna be okay or consistently you're gonna be okay i'm not saying that when god is part of your schedule problem i'm not saying that all right but what i'm saying is because he's part of your schedule he's the one you're seeking you're longing for him then i tell you in spite of the problems everything will be okay god created prayer for us to commune with him for us to listen to him and for us to be guided how to live our lives do you see that god created prayer for us to commune with him talk to him pour out our hearts our concerns and then for us to hear him listen to him hear him what he has to say to us and then guide us how we need to live our lives that's the purpose of why god created prayer you see consistency is important because because of consistency we grow we grow because of consistency we understand more situation but because you were consistent in spending time with the lord he slowly reveals why you're in that situation you slowly understand why god is allowing that and i've seen that many many times in my life in the lives of the people that i know who are constantly seeking the lord sometimes because i give up let's say now pray keep on doing it for the rest of the month for the rest of the year i tell you impossible hindi magic be consistent you want to understand your situation you want to know him more than keep spending time with him you want to grow more than keep knowing him keep seeking him because in every season what's our message seek the lord can you again chat that in every season seek the lord so what are the principles so far first seeking the lord involves time my suggestion is when you wake up in the morning you spend time reading his word spend time praying every day guys that's my challenge to you when you wake up in the morning read this word god spend time with him it's a basic thing but it's really the key he wants us to daily spend time with him i'm not legalistic if you want to do it at night okay but ibapa young early in the morning in the morning that you spend time with him it start you start your day right you shall be you're very tired already but some of you are saying the night person also again again i'm not legalistic on that but as much as possible i highly encourage in the morning spend time second make an effort seeking the lord involves effort energy from you number three it involves consistency and finally it involves humility seeking the lord involves time seeking the lord involves effort seeking the lord involves consistency seeking the lord involves humility but anyway it involves humility why is humility very important look at our greatest problem in spending time with the lord selfishness is the greatest hindrance to seeking the lord selfishness is the greatest hindrance to seeking the lord our pride our selfish desire now lord the reason why i don't seek you right now my gusto now for me most important cases i'm also guilty with that and there are times in the lord i know naman i need to spend time i need to read your word i need to pray peru selfish desires selfish i mean we can do those things now i'm not saying you don't watch tv don't play computer games i'm not saying that but sometimes selfishness is the greatest hindrance to seeking the lord that's why we need to be humble he will call on me and come and pray to me and i will listen to you that line you will call on me come and pray to me it's a line of humility it's saying to god lord i'm i'm in a desperate state right now i don't know what to do i'm i don't know any many things in this world but you know that's why i'm gonna call on you i'm gonna come to you and i'm gonna pray to you and then you will seek me that's a sign of humility and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart that's a sign of humility you know it's connected also to second chronicles 7 14. let's read this together if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face so when you humble yourself you're gonna pray and you're gonna seek his face and you're gonna turn from your evil or wicked ways and i promise to god i will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land that's what the israelites experience if you look at their history whenever they humble themselves god lifts them up whenever they're proud god pulls them down and that's what happens to us as well when we seek the lord if we seek the lord he lifts us up when we humble ourselves seek the lord he lifts us up when we don't seek the lord look at what's going to happen in your life but the more you grow farther away from god the more your life is not going to be okay that's why god said to jeremiah tell them that you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart and then he promised when you seek me with all your heart i will be found by you you will find me that's the greatest blessing you will know me you will know my willing for your life declares the lord and eventually i will bring you back from captivity i will gather you from all the nations and places where i have banished you declares the lord i will bring you back to the place for from which i carried you into exile yen you hope that god was showing to the israelites but before he said the hope he said first you will find me i will be found by you you will find my will you will find me and discover that my will is good pleasing and perfect that's what god is saying to the israelites and i believe that's what god is saying to you and to me and the opposite is true as well what do i mean the opposite is true the more we don't seek the lord the more everything will not be okay so because it's not really going to be okay the more you grow farther away from god i've seen that many times and it breaks my heart it's the morning maybe hindi financially nahirapan maybe hindi physically in a rap and there's no sickness emotionally mentally spiritually the side the lung i've seen that happen many times to many people and i don't want that to happen to you and maybe for some of you that's already happening then you got to humble yourself you got to make an effort to go back to god god will give you the strength don't get me wrong you're not doing this by yourself on your own god is going to give you people in your life to help you be more accountable to help you pour out your heart to help you run this race to help you get back up again but please if you're in the verge already nah you're not seeking the lord mr papali or your emotions are playing tricks on you please don't stop seeking god keep seeking the lord i don't want you at the end of this of your life before the end of your life you'll say now everything was not okay you only have one life to live don't waste it what's our message in every season what do you do seek the lord what does it involve it involves time it involves effort it involves consistency it involves humility i'm gonna end with a story that i heard recently actually a few hours ago we attended this conference and that story just blessed my heart because it was a story of coptic christians in egypt they went for i think for a camp they were going to a camp and while they were going to a camp i think two bosses with coptic christians were there and some non-christians may be joining them i don't really know the other details but basically what happened was the bus was traded by terrorists so the terrorists started shooting at these buses and they stop and then the other and then one bus there are a lot of christians coptic christians who were there the terrorists went up and started shooting people if you're a christian you're going to be shot if you're not a christian actually what they say is if you're not christians go out of the bus and they know who are not christians because usually the coptic christians after they get baptized they put a cross here or a tattoo cross here to identify that they're followers of jesus so they know these terrorists knows that these people are christians and one of the survivors survived to tell this story of what happened a lot of christians died because of this and then one of the story he told was there was this young boy and the terrorist was there pointing a gun to the boy and saying to the boy he young man you're still young you can still live i want you to deny your faith and he was hugging his mom and usually if you're the mom right or if you're the parent you would say to the boys you deny jesus and then we can just live you know what the mom said the mom said never ever deny the lord keep your faith hold on to your faith and i believe the story the storyteller was able to tell this because he survived but he also said that the boy and the mom were killed they died because of this and why did i say this story i was so blessed because the reason most probably or i really believe the reason why the mom was able to say that is because of her intimacy with god because for him the lord is the most important whether in good times or in bad times whatever season of life she's gonna seek the lord and she passed that on to her children and she told her children don't give up your faith i mean they are living in a place where they are persecuted but they still spend time seeking the lord we live in a place we're not persecuted but our greatest enemy is ourselves our hearts our greatest enemy is so many distractions all over the world the media the the whatever shows there is the the things that we that takes hold of us that's our greatest enemy and because of those things we're not seeking the lord silently persecute they still seek the lord and that's why i want us during the season to keep seeking the lord because the enemy wants us not to seek him because he knows that when we seek him everything will be okay i'll end with the statement my intimacy with god will carry me in every season of my life my intimacy with god will carry me in every season or of my life whether it's a good season a challenging season a positive season a difficult season whatever it is as long as i am intimate with god whether i feel it or not i know he's going to carry me so i may finish the race the reason why i'm still here doing god's work it's not because of me but because of god he kept on reminding me until now keeps on reminding me be intimate with me marty keep on spending time with me and i have to be honest with you there are times i'm distracted there are times i don't want to read there are times i don't feel like praying there are times i'm just i'm i'm quick to pray and then after that do my own work i have those moments but god has never failed to remind me spend time with me pray to me seek me and that's why i can say in my life everything will be okay because of my intimacy with god because of god and that can happen in your life as well but don't give up being intimate with the lord don't give up spending time with him don't give up making an effort reading his word making an effort praying making an effort seeking him don't give up being consistent every single day writing your journal praying to god being devoted to him and don't give up humbling yourself before the lord that's our message in every season seek the lord i want us to develop a heart that is so devoted longing for god my prayer is that everyone is listening right now will have that kind of art and i promise you i really promise you everything will be okay as long as we seek the lord with all of our hearts can i pray for you guys let's bow down our heads and let's pray for some of you listening right now maybe the reason why you're not seeking the lord actively passionately is because you don't have a personal relationship with him and i want to pray for you if you're that person and you want to have a personal relationship with jesus starting today i want you to pray something like this tell jesus from your heart tell jesus something like this jesus i'm sorry for all my sins i realize i have sinned many times and because of my sin i'm far away from you but i realize also today that you are the savior jesus that's why you came here on earth to die for my sins to pay for the penalty of my sins and that's why today jesus i receive you in my heart be my lord be my savior i confess my dependence on you i humble myself thank you for your grace thank you for the gift of eternal life thank you for being my salvation for the second group of people that i want to pray for lord for all of us peace god forgive us if we became so distracted this season distracted by what we feel distracted by our thoughts distracted by so many things in this world lord we're so sorry sorry for being selfish lord god thank you that you're gracious thank you that we have this serious break to remind us that in every season we are to seek you we are to know you we are to spend time with you we are to be devoted to you and as you promise in your word to the israelites you know your plans that you have for us these plans are to prosper not to harm us to give us hope in the future yes they are for the israelites lord but i also believe that for all of us you have amazing plans but our role is to seek you to be guided by you to come before you with humility teach us lord god to spend time with you daily teach us to make an effort teach us to be consistent and above all give us humble hearts thank you dear god for your word we love you and we honor you in jesus name we pray amen and amen now before we listen to our response song again i would like to remind if you are our guest and you want to be part of a small group please do chat with us in fact we want to pray for you we have some missionaries some leaders who are ready to communicate with you please chat with us because i know a lot of people need prayer right now need someone to talk to and we would love to talk to you guys and also for our breakout groups later we will have some breakout questions so please discuss this with your d group again thank you for joining us god bless you all [Music] you

Channel: Elevate Main

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Id: RWxISvKxQBo

Length: 61min 10sec (3670 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 05 2020